To treat chronic neck pain, a variety of effective therapies are now available, such that you do not have to live with the pain. If pain is acute, cropping up “over night”, you should see a doctor as soon as possible, since acute cervical spine pain can also conceal a herniated disc.
Causes and diagnostics
The integrative therapy for neck pain and cervical spine problems requires a comprehensive, multi-modal symptom analysis in order to be able to initiate the proper, targeted therapy.
Hypermobility
Probably the most frequent cause of neck pain is hypermobility of individual vertebrae. Most of those affected complain of recurring mild to moderate pain with a slight restriction in movement. Such complaints are treated with therapies for reducing pain, exercises aimed specifically at strengthening the muscles and improving coordination.
Blocked vertebrae
Inversely insufficient movement can also lead to complaints. Blocking is often manifested in acute and severe restrictions in movement and pain. It is treated with manual medical methods, osteopathy, acupuncture and exercises for improving movement.
Overstrain
Ligaments, muscles or joints can be overstrained by too much or incorrect burdening. The pain is intensified by reflexes, the muscles cramp leading to further overstraining and this in turn causes renewed pain. In such cases it is important to prevent the reflexes and to correct the cause of the overstraining (possibly the consequence of poor posture).
Slipped disc
The pressure of the prolapsed disc material on a nerve of the arm or the spinal cord can lead to dangerous and even irreversible damage to the nerve structures. That is why the doctor always looks for evidence of a slipped disc in cases of cervical spine complaints.
In addition to pain and restricted movement classic symptoms of a slipped disc also include pain radiating out to the arm, sensory disturbances and in severe cases even paralysis.
Neuromuscular function diagnostics
Shoulder and neck pain is often caused by inappropriate response patterns. Relationships between stress behaviour, increased muscle tone, breathing and posture play important roles in the diagnosis.
Using the neuromuscular function diagnosis, all of these factors can be precisely distinguished and identified. Along with manual diagnostics, the data collected from this measurement are analyzed by your doctor for the generation of an appropriate therapeutic programme.
Depending on the indication, we at the Centre for Integrative Medicine will also perform a 3-D spine screening using a Spineliner or Medimouse.
Integrative therapy
The neuromuscular functional diagnostics allow us to precisely determine the individual pain factors and initiate the corresponding therapy.
Based on the indication, the integrative therapy involves matching individual therapeutic procedures to one’s personal symptoms.
Organisation & Costs
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